Customer

This week’s Word of the Week has an anecdote attached to it. So if anyone has been following the saga of my car will know, I had a problem with the emissions. I recently had some repairs done which supposedly fixed the problem. To be quite honest the car is idling properly and drives a lot smoother so in my view it has worked.

So today I took it back in to have it run through the state emissions test again. Unfortunately the chap who had done the initial repairs was not in and would not be in until the afternoon. Also the usual receptionist behind the desk was missing in action. I approached the counter and was met by a deathly glance. The gentleman – well he really wasn’t a gentleman – stared back at his computer screen before mumbling something indicating he wanted to know why I was there.

I stated that I had just had some repairs done and asked for Willy. He again didn’t turn away from whatever he was doing and stated blankly that Willy wasn’t there and would be in later on. I kindly retorted that I would come back later on. To which I got no response and not even a glance as I headed quickly for the exit.

To any normal person this may seem trivial but I am a bit of a pain in the arse when it comes to customer service. In my view that’s where the sale begins and seeing as I had already given this shop $400 of my hard earned cash, I would have been grateful if the “gentleman” standing in behind the desk would have had the courtesy to address me directly by looking me in the eye.

Luckily for this company the rest of the staff have been very friendly and more than helpful so this one little faux pas will escape my wrath. However, if it comes down to good customer service over getting a bargain I will occasionally pick customer service and that is something all businesses should never consider skimping on.